Pope Francis reminds US that the arms trade is the “industry of death” and more stories on peace. “Being at the service of dialogue and peace also means being truly determined to minimize and, in the long term, to end the many armed conflicts throughout our world,” the pope said. Then he asked the critical […]

I post updates on TL and Australia oil/gas dispute. East Timor scraps sea-border talks with Australia Dow Jones – September 24, 2015 Canberra, Australia — East Timor has abandoned talks on a maritime boundary with Australia and renewed a legal challenge to gain a larger share of potentially lucrative undersea oil-and-gas fields. East Timor’s government […]

Stop bombing in Syria 1 Stop bombing in Syria from Greens Senator Scott Ludlam Malcolm Turnbull, when he announced he was challenging Tony Abbott, said that the “captain’s calls” must stop. The most reckless of these was begging the United States to ‘ask’ for Australia’s involvement in bombing missions inside Syria. This is Mr Turnbull’s […]

China Premier Zhou Enlai arrives at the Bandung Conference in Indonesia (1955) to announce the Five Principles of Peace. The Five Principles of Peace were first written by Zhou Enlai on December 31, 1953. The Principles are: 1) Mutual respect for each nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty 2) Mutual non-aggression 3) Mutual non-interference in each […]

I am posting some background articles on Turnbull who can be beaten politically in the next election. Alexander White “Turnbull must change climate policies or he will perish. Climate groups must put the pressure on Turnbull to deliver policy outcomes now, while he has the political capital to act. Read the analysis here http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/southern-crossroads/2015/sep/15/turnbull-must-change-policies-or-perish Just […]

Determined struggle brings Iraqi workers new labour law 26 Aug 2015 A ten-year national and international campaign has resulted in the enactment of a new labour code in Iraq. On 17 August the Iraqi parliament passed a new labour law allowing the right to strike and collective bargaining, prohibiting child labour, discrimination and sexual harassment. […]

A day in the crisis of our political state or Managing the stench of the growing Abbottaroma by Bob Ellis (First published by Independent Australia https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/managing-the-stench-of-abbottarommanaging-the-stench-of-the-growing-abbottaroma,8127) For a long, long time the Liberals have wreathed their enemies in the odour of criminality. Boat people have been called ‘illegals’;’union corruption’ is almost a single word, and […]

Why Is China Letting the Yuan Fall? There’s been a lot of speculation about China’s recent currency moves, but it’s business as usual for global capitalism. by Geoffrey McCormack See as well, …in the seven years following the outbreak of the crisis, capital accumulation slowed by 10 percentage points. This underlying weakness in investment is […]